Validation of a screening questionnaire for the presence of neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus in clinical practice
Abstract
Neuropsychiatric lupus (NPSLE) is one of the most common types of organ damage in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and includes a total of 19 clinical syndromes affecting the central and peripheral nervous system. To simplify diagnosis and detection of early involvement in NPSLE a working group of experts on NPSLE designed a questionnaire for screening of neuropsychiatric impairment in patients with established SLE.
Objective: The objective was to create a Czech version of the screening questionnaire in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, for the presence of neuropsychiatric symptoms in routine clinical practice, and to perform its validation. Patients and Methods: The questionnaire was translated independently by two rheumatologists, and both translations were then compared by the group of authors, discussed and unified.
The resulting questionnaire was translated back into English and compared with the original version, and the final version of the Czech translation of the questionnaire was created. This version was presented to 41 patients with SLE.
To assess the clarity and relevance of the questions we used the method of feedback from respondents. Results: An overall score of 17 points, and thus the possibility of the presence of NPSLE, was reached by 17 respondents.
If the neurological component was assessed only, the screening was positive in 24 patients (58.3%). The questionnaire was understandable for all respondents.
Conclusion: The Czech, linguistically validated version of the screening questionnaire for NPSLE demonstrated applicability for an approximate assessment of the presence of neuropsychiatric symptoms, clarity and relevance to the problems of patients. This short questionnaire containing a total of 27 questions in two sections can already be used in routine clinical practice.